Opinion Articles

There were reports last week that women are three times more likely than men to be arrested for domestic violence.
This headline comes as a surprise to those of us who have personal experience of domestic disputes, and yet the press have simply run with the story without investigating what lies behind it. So, here is what the BBC and the Guardian should have reported, but didn’t:
The author is Marianne Hester. She is professor of Gender, Violence and International Policy at Bristol University. She is co-director of the Violence against Women …

CAFCASS policy has undergone a shift of late in favour of shared parenting. “Cafcass wishes to help both parents to continue, after separation or divorce, to play an important role in their children’s lives, unless there is a good reason, supported by evidence, not to do so.”
They acknowledge that not all of CAFCASS’ own people have come up to speed with this new approach yet, and so their Guidance for case officers is essential reading for anyone whose children are currently involved with them.
This is welcome news which may have …

Thanks to Glenn Sacks for this remarkable story of a father who was wrongly jailed for 20 years for sexually abusing his son. The son, now aged 33, states the alleged abuse never occurred and that he was bullied into making the allegation. The son, however, still sees his mother as the victim, even though she was complicit in wrongly imprisoning his father for 20 years! Such are the lifelong effects of parental alienation.
Read the full article

Presented at the British Psychological Society Conference on 23rd June 2009:
Dr Nicola Graham-Kevan from the University of Lancaster: “Men and women perpetrators of domestic violence were found to have very similar levels of financial control, sexual control and intimidation in relationships.”
“The results of this study tell us that we need to challenge some of the assumptions around domestic violence..one such assumption is that controlling behaviour in relationships is unique to men.”
View the report

EPA candidate Keith Collett, relishing the campaign outside Runnymede Civic Centre.
It was on Runnymede’s meadow that English democracy began in 1215 with the signing of Magna Carta. What better place to try to restore some decent principles to English politics.
Keith has delivered leaflets to around half the electors now, talking to many people on their doorstep as he does so, asking, among other things, whether local people intend to turn out to vote on 4th June, given the Westminster expenses scandals which form a backdrop to this campaign.
Approx …

There are only a few local elections in 2009, and we have one candidate, Keith Collett, standing for 2 seats in Runnymede: Addlestone and Woodham. Keith is receiving no expenses, except the price of a pair of boots to deliver 10,000 leaflets personally around the constituencies. We are literally running on a shoe string! Donations to our party funds are very welcome.
Keith is an ex-soldier, and worked as a lorry driver until losing his job recently in the recession.
“This means I will be able to put all my …

We believe family courts should adopt the principle that, following divorce or separation of parents, there is a presumption that both parents will have reasonable contact with their children unless there is a good reason otherwise.
Clearly there is a big difference between one case in which the child and his resident mother, for instance, live a mile away from the non-resident father, and another case in which they live 300 miles away. Because of these differences of circumstances, the exact definition of reasonable contact will vary between cases.
We attach …

One fundamental of good parenting is supporting the role of the other parent.
Children need two parents, and they especially need two parents that work together. They need a consistent view of the world and their place in it to feel secure and confident.
It’s as simple as mum not telling John he can play outside ­– straight after dad’s told him he can’t – even if she thinks it’s OK herself. Or it’s as complex as dad telling him that mummy’s just out late and will be back soon – even …

While husband Barak attended the G20 summit, Michelle Obama took the opportunity to visit a North London school. Excellent – the students must have been delighted, an event they will always remember, and be encouraged by. But why, oh why, did Ms Obama choose a girls-only school to visit, and why did she speak about the world needing strong women?
It is boys rather than girls who are disadvantaged these days in schooling. They are the ones who need encouragement, so why visit a single-sex school, and why make it girls rather than …

In 2006, Belgium introduced laws that make parenting time equal after separation. Listen to Dr Pascal Gallez describing to the Australian radio show, Dads on the air, how this law came about and how it is working in practice http://www.dadsontheair.net/shows/Dads_on_the_Air_2009-03-10.mp3 . The interview begins min.12.36 into the show.